Sabine Senft - Sculptor and Painter

Artist Statement

The dichotomy between beauty and suffering strikes a chord. My unique transnational position allows me to perceive and draw parallels between the issues and merits of different countries, their cultures and borders. I investigate how reality is filtered by an individual’s past, perception and personal experience. I work through juxtapositions and contrasts to create fingerprints of our time. My work frequently deals with vulnerability and the idea of looking past perfection to reveal and see what lies beneath the surface, literally and metaphorically. I strive for balance, trying to make sense of the opposing elements encountered in the cultural, political and social worlds. Exuding a balance of process and concept, my art expresses the power and frailty of perception. (2017)

I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to live and work within many diverse cultures. Each has added its distinct mark to my perception and art, which fuses the personal with the global.

My enthusiasm for my materials has matured over the years but not diminished. Stone and gold are as old as mankind. They record and carry the past into the present (gold is essential in microchips!). They give us cultural identity. I give them new meaning. This is how my work fuses the ancient with the contemporary in medium, technique and a fresh approach. (2016)

“My main media are natural stone and gold leaf of international provenance. Both are ancient natural materials that have similar qualities yet are so different: strong, yet fragile and vulnerable. It is the contrast that draws me to these so seemingly different materials. Stone appears strong and sturdy, however, it is surprisingly fragile and brittle when worked; gold leaf is fragile yet has such a powerful and strong impact through its luminosity. A beautiful contrast. Beautiful materials that show their vulnerability in different ways and express the power and frailty of perception.” (2012)